Energy conservation in school buildings in Newfoundland and Labrador

Canning, Rick Harlin (1983) Energy conservation in school buildings in Newfoundland and Labrador. Masters thesis, Memorial University of Newfoundland.

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Abstract

This internship was conducted at the Energy Branch of the Department of Mines and Energy of Newfoundland and Labrador. It focused primarily on energy conservation activities in the schools of the province as they relate to the physical and mechanical structure of school buildings. -- Information was obtained by sending a questionnaire to each of the 35 school boards of the province, by interviewing several of the business managers of school boards, by researching literature at the Department of Mines and Energy and at the library of Memorial University, and by corresponding with the departments of Education and Mines and Energy across Canada. -- At present there is little co-ordinated effort to conserve energy in the school buildings of Newfoundland and Labrador. Most school buildings are in desperate need of renovations for the purpose of conserving energy. To assist boards the Department of Education introduced an Energy Conservation Grant on a 50/50 basis with school boards up to a maximum of $1.50 per student. However, many boards are unable to avail of the grant due to the lack of funding at the board level or because of a lack of information about appropriate activities to conserve energy. The main thrust to conserve energy is left to the individual school boards. -- Most school boards are aware of the need to conserve energy, particularly from an economic point of view. The business managers saw the main obstacles to energy conservation as the lack of proper funding, insufficient time for board administrators to deal with the issue, lack of precise information on energy conservation, and the lack of leadership at the provincial level. However, many worthwhile activities have been carried out by individual school boards that demonstrate to some degree the advantages of conserving energy. This is also supported by work done in the four provinces studied: Alberta, British Columbia, New Brunswick and Ontario. -- If the schools of Newfoundland and Labrador are going to make progress in the area of energy conservation, then there must be a joint effort by all agencies involved in school buildings, including oil companies, power companies, the Department of Education and the Department Of Mines and Energy. Furthermore, this effort must be co-ordinated at the provincial level by one agency or person so that all school boards can benefit from an energy management program. The program must be comprehensive but at the same time flexible enough to accommodate the individual characteristics of each board, such as, climatic conditions, age of buildings, and any other physical features.

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